Official plans to rehabilitate the Primavera Forest after the devastating fire in April of this year are far from adequate, says researcher Miguel Angel Magaña of the University of Guadalajara’s Center for Biological and Agricultural Studies (CUCBA).
The researcher points out that a detailed study of the damage caused by the fire has not yet been carried out, especially in regard to the impact on the soil. In particular, he criticizes CONAFOR (Comisión Nacional Forestal) for planting trees “which don’t correspond to the natural proportion of pine to oak trees of this forest,” and for hiding the fact that “almost all of the 33 million trees CONAFOR planted during the last 18 years are now dead.”
“CONAFOR,” says Magaña, “continues to treat the Bosque de la Primavera as if it were just any woods and not a Protected Area.” He suggests making a detailed inventory of the bushes and plants which have been lost, as these are vital for the survival of the fauna living in the forest. “They have to replace the species of plants that were destroyed, but no serious studies have been carried out that could help to accomplish this.”
To avoid the repetition of such scenarios, the researcher in Environmental Sciences proposes changing all administrators who have anything to do with the Primavera Forest, “just as long as the replacements are chosen for technical, not political reasons.” He proposes the creation of an autonomous organism including land owners, specialists, responsible citizens and the government, heavily weighted in favor of technically competent people, in order to help “depoliticize” the Bosque.
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